Anglican Church to complete ‘covenant agreement’ to settle disputes

London, England, Jul 9, 2007 / 11:06 am (CNA).-
The Church of England's ruling body has given the green light for a covenant agreement, which would aim to commit the Anglican Communion's separate churches to specific procedures for solving disputes, reported the BBC.

The General Synod, meeting in York, said it supported drawing up the rules.

"Unless we can make a fresh statement clearly and basically of what holds us together we are destined to grow apart," said Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies, who chaired the group meeting.

The synod rejected a motion to oppose the draft covenant, proposed by Tim Cox from the Diocese of Blackburn.

Cox was concerned that the draft is too weak. “It feels like a cut and paste job,” he reportedly said during the synod’s three-hour debate. "It vacillates and, unlike our articles, does not make a clear assertion that the Scriptures are the word of God.

He underlined that “the promotion of sexual immorality is not even mentioned."

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams has warned that the Anglican Communion could split over issues such as the 2003 ordination of a US gay bishop. There has also been disagreement over church blessings for same-sex couples.

According to the BBC report, he has suggested dividing the Communion into "associated" and "constituent" provinces as a way around problems.